Raptors' Nurse on Kawhi Leonard: 'He played his heart out for us'
Head coach disappointed, not surprised star forward going home to play for Clippers
Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said he was disappointed by Kawhi Leonard's decision to leave the team but said he understood the superstar's desire to return to his native California to join the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency.
"That's what he texted me today. 'I'm going home.' And I just said, 'You've changed a lot of lives, man, by what you've accomplished in Toronto. Mine especially.' And thanked him for what he did, and we'll look to the future, and we'll look to [win a title] again."
Leonard is joining the Clippers on a four-year, $141-million US contract, ESPN reported. The Clippers also acquired Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder to pair with Leonard.
WATCH | Leonard leads Raptors to NBA title over Warriors in Game 6:
"I was just hanging out with a couple of the assistants," Nurse said. "Got the text message and then got the news report quickly afterward. I'm not totally surprised. I think we all knew that [Leonard leaving] was a situation that could happen. He delivered big-time, played his heart out for us. We certainly are going to relish this championship for a long time.
"I mean we got a tremendous challenge ahead of us, but I always say that the challenge is our fuel and the tank is certainly full. So we got a chance for some guys to expand their roles maybe that wouldn't have had expanded roles in the situation, and I think we got some guys capable of doing that. So I look forward to the challenge as I said, and let's go get after it."
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Nurse said Leonard has left behind a championship legacy and some great memories.
"It's certainly disappointing," Nurse said. "I think, first of all, he's a great person. He was unbelievably fun to coach, just locked in and loaded and ready to go. People would ask me, 'What was it like coaching him?' And I always said the best thing was I got to stand there on the courtside and watch this guy go to work. That was something that I'll never forget. Now we got to go kick his ass."